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☆ Finland's Marin in battle over state spending to stay in power
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Anne Kauranen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Marin says spending on education and health services is key to securing economic growth. Her rivals, Petteri Orpo of the right-wing National Coalition Party and Riikka Purra of the nationalist Finns Party, are calling for fiscal austerity to restore government finances. Marin's Social Democrats believe economic growth will help Finland stop accruing more debt and, if need be, prefer raising taxes over spending cuts. Marin has rejected forming a government with the Finns Party, calling it "openly racist" during a debate in January - an accusation Purra sternly rejected. Her party would also push back Finland's carbon neutrality target which Marin's ruling coalition set for 2035.

☆ Nordic countries plan joint air defence to counter Russian threat
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-24 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

COPENHAGEN, March 24 (Reuters) - Air force commanders from Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark said on Friday they have signed a letter of intent to create a unified Nordic air defence aimed at countering the rising threat from Russia. The move to integrate the air forces was triggered by Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February last year, commander of the Danish air force, Major General Jan Dam, told Reuters. Finland has 62 F/A-18 Hornet jets and 64 F-35s on order, while Denmark has 58 F-16s and 27 F-35s on order. The signing at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany last week was attended by NATO Air Command chief General James Hecker, who also oversees the U.S. Air Force in the region. The Nordic air force commanders first discussed the closer cooperation at a meeting in November in Sweden.

☆ Finland to allow gender reassignment without sterilisation
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

COPENHAGEN, March 3 (Reuters) - Finland will allow transgender people to change their legal gender at their own request and without undergoing sterilisation, new legislation signed by the Finnish President confirmed on Friday. The European Court of Human Rights ruled in 2017 that requiring sterilisation in order for individuals to change the sex on their birth certificate is a violation of human rights. Medical examinations and sterilization will no longer be required to legally change one's gender, it added. On Friday, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto ratified the new legislation which is will enter into force on April 3. The Czech Republic, Latvia, and Romania currently require individuals to undergo sterilization before legally changing their gender, according to Transgender Europe (TGEU).

☆ Casio teams with Finland's Polar Electro on smartwatch
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HELSINKI, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Japanese watchmaker Casio Computer (6952.T) has partnered with Finnish heart rate monitoring pioneer Polar Electro for its latest fitness smartwatch, the two companies said on Tuesday. Casio launched what it called its first smartwatch in 2021 using Google's (GOOGL.O) Wear operating system, entering the wearables market dominated by Apple (AAPL.O) and Samsung (005930.KS). Casio will add Polar's technology to its newest smartwatch, it said. Polar said it would also offer its algorithms to other commercial partners. Reporting by Anne Kauranen in Helsinki; editing by Jason NeelyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Finland to send three Leopard tanks to Ukraine
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HELSINKI, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Finland will send three Leopard 2 tanks suitable for mine clearing to Ukraine and provide training for their use, the Finnish defence ministry said on Thursday. Finnish president Sauli Niinisto in January said Finland would participate in a European donation of battle tanks, adding that Finland's contribution would be modest to avoid compromising its own security. "Finland's share of tanks to be donated to Ukraine cannot be very significant. We have a long eastern border to defend, we are still not NATO members and we cannot compromise our own security," Savola said. Finland has slightly fewer than 200 Leopard 2 tanks.

☆ Finland to discuss NATO ratification that may leave Sweden behind
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-10 | by ( Anne Kauranen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

"Our position on Finland is positive, but it is not positive on Sweden," President Tayyip Erdogan said last week. A 53% majority of Finns polled on Feb. 2 for daily Ilta-Sanomat said they did not want Finland to wait for Sweden. For that to happen, Turkey and Hungary need to ratify the Finnish membership first and NATO to officially invite Finland as a member. Finland's Chancellor of Justice Tuomas Poysti told Ilta-Sanomat the process would leave Finland some room to wait for Sweden if need be, but not endlessly. Officially, Finland has reaffirmed time and time again that it wants to join NATO with Sweden.

☆ Rovio posts Q4 profit drop, says mobile game market shrank last year
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Feb 9 (Reuters) - Finnish game maker Rovio (ROVIO.HE), best known for its Angry Birds franchise, posted a fall in fourth-quarter profit on Thursday and said the global mobile game market in 2022 declined for the first time ever. Rovio, which is currently the target of a takeover offer from larger U.S.-listed rival Playtika , said game developers' revenue was also dented by privacy changes on Apple's iPhone. "Apple's App Tracking Transparency (ATT) framework has heavily impacted game publishers' ability to target high-value players," the gamemaker said. Rovio reported a 55% decline to 5.9 million euros ($6.3 million) in its fourth-quarter adjusted operating profit, while its revenue declined 2.5%. The mobile gaming market showed signs of stabilising towards the end of the year, it said, adding it expects flat revenue and profit development this year.

☆ Key Finnish industries resolve wage disputes
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HELSINKI, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Wage disputes in the Finnish technology and chemicals industries have been resolved, ending the risk of labour strikes that were due to begin next week, employers and a workers' union said on Sunday. The agreement is a key step in defining workers' pay rises in Finland as the tech industry has traditionally been considered a benchmark for other unions' demands. The Finnish Industrial Union said it had agreed to a two-year wage deal which will increase wages by 7% over two years for employees, including a one-off extra payment of 400 euros this year. The wage deal covers some 90,000 industrial employees, it said, adding a similar deal was reached for some 13,000 chemical industry employees. Reporting by Anne Kauranen and Essi Lehto, editing by Terje Solsvik and Toby ChopraOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Nokia's quarterly profit beats expectations on 'robust' demand
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

STOCKHOLM, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Nokia (NOKIA.HE) on Thursday beat quarterly operating profit expectations and forecast higher 2023 sales as the Finnish telecom equipment maker benefited from 5G roll-out in countries such as India. "Looking forward to 2023, while we are mindful of the uncertain economic outlook, demand remains robust," Lundmark said in a statement. Nokia forecast full-year net sales of between 24.9 billion euros and 26.5 billion euros, which implies between 2% and 8% growth in constant currency. Analysts expect 25.5 billion euros. Net sales grew 16% to 7.45 billion euros, beating estimates of 7.11 billion.

☆ Elevator-maker Kone to slash 1,000 jobs, sees recovery in Asia
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Anne Kauranen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HELSINKI, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Finnish elevator-maker Kone (KNEBV.HE) said on Thursday it would slash up to 1,000 jobs globally as it cuts costs and it expects demand to pick up in its main market China and elsewhere in Asia this year. The cuts will save 100 million euros annually from the beginning of next year, the company said, with 150 of the job losses coming from Finland. Kone posted stronger-than-expected fourth-quarter core earnings but its order intake declined more than analysts had expected. Its October-December adjusted operating profit rose by 1.6% to 365 million euros ($398 million) from 359.4 million euros a year earlier, beating the 333.6 million expected by 21 analysts in a poll provided by the company. ($1 = 0.9178 euros)Reporting by Anne Kauranen, editing by Terje Solsvik and Elaine HardcastleOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Explainer: Why is Turkey blocking Swedish and Finnish NATO membership?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

WHY DOES TURKEY OBJECT TO SWEDISH AND FINNISH MEMBERSHIP? The PKK is designated a terrorist group in Turkey, Sweden, the United States and Europe. Sweden and Finland want to proceed together, but with Turkey's ire directed mainly at Sweden, Finland could eventually lose patience with the process. COULD NATO EXPEL TURKEY, ALLOWING SWEDEN AND FINLAND TO JOIN? But Sweden, Finland and NATO want to avoid a long drawn-out process.

☆ Finland promises 400 million euros of aid to Ukraine, could add Leopards
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The new donation would triple the total value of Finland's defence aid to Ukraine, bringing the total so far to 590 million euros, the Defence Ministry said in a statement. "I can only say that this package does not include Leopard tanks. Finland had earlier indicated it could send the German-made Leopard tanks if there were agreement among allies. The defence ministers of Finland and Sweden are to sign a Statement of Intent (SoI) on support for Ukraine in Ramstein later today, the Finnish ministry said. Under that agreement "Finland supplies defence materiel to Ukraine, and Sweden expresses its readiness to support Finland as necessary," it said.

☆ Davos 2023: Finland's Marin vows years of Ukraine support
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Finland is prepared to support Ukraine in its war with Russia for as long as necessary, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said on Tuesday while speaking at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos. "I think the only message that we need to send is that we will support Ukraine as long as needed. One year, two years, five years, 10 years, 15 years," Marin said. In 2022, the Finnish government spent some 300 million euros on support to Ukraine, around 190 million of it on buying defence equipment. For daily Davos updates in your inbox sign up for the Reuters Daily Briefing hereReporting by Anne Kauranen, editing by Terje SolsvikOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Analysis: Italy's rates clash with ECB a sign of things to come for euro zone
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Francesco Canepa | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Summary Euro zone governments offering cost-of-living subsidiesECB has warned it won't compensate for "policy errors"Clashes seen widening beyond ItalyFRANKFURT, Dec 20 (Reuters) - Attacks by Italy's new government on the European Central Bank over its plans to raise borrowing costs may be a sign of things to come for a euro zone struggling with inflation and debt. It also showed the ECB did not fear penalising the most indebted of the 19 euro zone countries, Italy among them, which tend to see their borrowing costs rise disproportionately when credit becomes more expensive. "The ECB is clearly ready to take risks with fragmentation in the euro area," Gilles Moec, chief economist at AXA Investment Managers, said. With bigger deficits to refinance and the ECB raising interest rates while also winding down its bond purchases, markets have pushed up yields across the euro zone and particularly for the weakest borrowers, such as Italy. But the ECB has been clear it won't be used to rescue countries that have made imprudent "policy errors".

☆ Arctic data cable linking Europe to Japan secures first investment
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Anne Kauranen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The subsea cable, which the developers say will be the first to be laid on the Arctic seabed, will connect Europe and Japan via North America as part of the global internet infrastructure. An earlier plan to run the cable along the Russian Arctic coastline, in a venture with Russia's second-biggest mobile phone operator Megafon (MFON.MM), was cancelled last year. This was due to Russia's increased reluctance to authorise the cable being laid in its territorial area, Finland's Cinia, the company leading the Far North Fiber consortium, said. Far North Fiber is a joint venture between Cinia, U.S.-based Far North Digital and Japan's Arteria Networks (4423.T). Far North Fiber gave no value for the investment but a source said one pair of fibres was worth around 100 million euros, with a further 100 million in maintenance costs required throughout its 30-year lifespan.

☆ Europe is too dependent on China for technologies, Finland's PM says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

HELSINKI, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Europe is currently too reliant on China for technologies and should be wary of this dependency, Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin said on Thursday. Reporting by Anne Kauranen, editing by Terje SolsvikOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Finland, Sweden promise to join NATO together in united front to Turkey
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Sweden's new Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson and Prime Minister of Finland Sanna Marin during their joint news conference after their official meeting at the PM's official residence Kesaranta in Helsinki, Finland, October 28, 2022. Lehtikuva/Vesa Moilanen/via REUTERSHELSINKI, Oct 28 (Reuters) - Finland and Sweden will joint NATO at the same time, their prime ministers said on Friday, presenting a united front to Turkey which has raised questions about both their applications. Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin said on Friday Turkey's president had told her he had more questions for Sweden than for her country. "It is very important for us, of course, that Finland and Sweden would join NATO hand in hand," Marin told reporters at a joint press conference in Helsinki with her Swedish counterpart. "It's completely legitimate that Turkey gets confirmation that Sweden is doing what Sweden has committed to do within the framework of the agreement," he added.

☆ Finnish seismologists detect five blasts in Russian waters
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HELSINKI, Oct 25 (Reuters) - Finnish seismologists detected five underwater blasts in Russian waters in the Baltic Sea last week, the Helsinki University Institute of Seismology said on Tuesday. Four explosions were recorded on Thursday and one on Friday in Russian territorial waters in the Gulf of Finland, Tiira said, adding it had been clear that the observations had been caused by blasts and not by other seismic activity. "It can be seen in the shape of the signal and in the content of its frequency," he said. The institute did not know what had caused the blasts but that similar disturbances had been detected during previous naval drills and sweeping of old mines from the sea bottom, Tiira said. "We have detected explosions in that same area before, but not very often, not even every year," he said.

☆ Finland will shut border to Russian tourists from midnight
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

HELSINKI, Sept 29 (Reuters) - Finland will close its border to Russian tourists from midnight local time (2100 GMT), which is expected to lead to a significant drop in cross-border traffic, the government said on Thursday. The inflow of Russians is now seen as endangering Finland's international relations, Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto told a news conference. Entry for family visits, as well as for work and studies, will still be permitted, he added. The Finnish government, wary of being a transit nation into western Europe's passport-free Schengen zone, on Friday said it planned to halt tourism from Russia and that a decision would be finalised in the days that followed. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Anne Kauranen, writing by Terje Solsvik, editing by Gwladys FoucheOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ ECB's Rehn warns against excessive energy expenditure
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

"The efforts of EU countries to identify ways to limit household energy bills are understandable but indiscriminately increasing expenditure would not be - and would not help in the fight against inflation," Rehn said in a statement. Instead, he called for tailored and temporary measures targeted at the most vulnerable to help them pay for their energy. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com Register"The long-term debt sustainability of more than one-third of the countries in the euro area is under serious threat," he said. Rehn said Europe should combine its forces in combating energy-related inflation via energy market reforms but first and foremost by saving energy. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Anne Kauranen; Editing by Balazs Koranyi and Hugh LawsonOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ ECB policymakers put 75 bps hike on table for October
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

FRANKFURT/HELSINKI, Sept 28 (Reuters) - The European Central Bank may need to raise interest rates by another 75 basis points at its October meeting and move again in December to a level that no longer stimulates the economy, policymakers said on Wednesday. Finnish central bank chief Olli Rehn, considered a moderate swing voter, also said that 75 basis points could be among the options. Outspoken policy hawk Robert Holzmann, Austria's central bank governor, also backed a 75 basis point move in an interview with Bloomberg TV, arguing that 100 basis points would simply be too much. ECB President Christine Lagarde said the "first destination" in the rate hiking cycle will be the "neutral" rate, which neither stimulates not slows growth. "In my view, we are heading towards the range of the neutral rate by Christmas," Rehn said.

The October move should then be followed by another step that takes the ECB to what policymakers call the neutral rate, which neither stimulates nor slows growth, ending a more than decade-long experiment with ultra-easy policy. "In my view, we are heading towards the range of the neutral rate by Christmas," said Rehn, 60, a potential Finnish presidential candidate who often tops opinion polls. While undefined, the neutral rate is seen somewhere between 1.5% and 2%, well above the ECB's 0.75% deposit rate. "For euro zone inflation, there is one driver above others and one anchor more important than others," Rehn said. While a downturn is increasingly likely to morph into a recession given sky-high energy prices and potential energy shortages, Rehn argued this was still a small price to pay.

☆ Finland closes highway for fighter jet drill for first time in decades
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-28 | by ( Anne Kauranen | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

JOUTSA, Finland, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Finland has shut down a section of one of its main highways for five days for the first time in decades to allow its fighter jets to practice landings and take-offs on a reserve road runway. But the reserve roadbase located in Joutsa, Central Finland, has not been used for decades due to its importance as the main highway connecting the capital Helsinki to the more northern parts of the country. "Mainly I believe all the roadbases are in quite good condition so easily taken into the operations in a couple of days," Mantyla said. Another local, Seija Viinikainen, 57, welcomed the exercise amid the Ukraine war turning the situation "dubious". Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Anne Kauranen; Editing by Lisa ShumakerOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Germany nationalises gas importer Uniper
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Uniper logo is seen at the utility's firm headquarters in Duesseldorf, Germany, July 8, 2022. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/File PhotoRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterCompanies Fortum Oyj FollowUniper SE FollowBERLIN/HELSINKI, Sept 21 (Reuters) - Germany has agreed to nationalise Uniper (UN01.DE) by buying Fortum's (FORTUM.HE) stake in the gas importer to secure operations and keep its business going, the three parties involved said on Wednesday. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe package "creates a clear ownership structure in order to secure Uniper, and thus the energy supply for companies, municipal utilities and consumers," it said. Russia cutting back natural gas supplies and last month closing the Nord Stream 1 gas pipe have led Uniper, Germany's largest gas importer, to financial dire straits, triggering a rescue package with Berlin which was agreed in July. ($1 = 1.0075 euros)Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Essi Lehto, Anne Kauranen, Kirsti Knolle editing by Stine Jacobsen, Paul CarrelOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Baltic states and Poland close doors to Russian tourists
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-19 | by ( Andrius Sytas | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

A general view of the bridge over Narva river at the border crossing point with Russia in Narva, Estonia September 18, 2022. Monday's entry ban is targeted at tourists and excludes Russian dissidents seeking refuge in the EU along with lorry drivers, refugees and permanent residents of EU countries as well as those visiting family members. The border guard told me I won't t be allowed to come here anymore," he told Reuters. "I will still be able to get to Estonia through other countries," he told Reuters shortly after crossing into Narva. Russia said it would retaliate against the curbs, but would not close itself off from the bloc.

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